MARKETING GLOSSARY

Ad campaign – An advertising plan with specific, defined objectives and a detailed method of reaching those objectives. An ad campaign may be focused on a certain advertising medium such as a mailing or an online banner ad .

Advertising – Producing advertisements with the intent of increasing desire for a product or service that eventually leads to a sale.

Article Marketing – The use of informative and entertaining writing pieces to bring targeted traffic to your website. The articles typically appear on content sites related to your niche and are typically written with the specific intention of increasing credibility and/or getting the reader more interested in your product or service.

Blog – A journal style website intended for viewing by the general public. Originally used for personal websites, blogs are increasingly being used by businesses to keep in touch with their customer base, build rapport, and create anticipation for upcoming product releases.

Blue chip marketing – Advertising created for a select group of large and credit-worthy companies that have a proven history of quality products and producing profits.

Corporate identity – The group of messages an organization uses to communicate its mission, goals, values, and vision. A corporate identity may include visual messages such as a logo .

Copywriting – Using words, as part of an advertisement, to promote a person, product, or service. The promotional text may appear on any number of mediums ranging from television to direct mail. Online copywriting examples include banner ad text , email ads , pay-per-click ads, and sales letters.

Demographic – A statistic describing a group of people.

Direct mail – An ad piece that is mailed to the customer’s home or place of work.

Directory – A collection of links to a website usually organized and grouped by area or topic. Can be a useful way to increase the number of incoming links to a website.

Discussion forum – (also known as web forums, message boards, discussion boards) A web application used for managing and displaying text discussions among users. An online venue for exchanging ideas. Can be used to spread the word about one’s business through the use of a signature file at the bottom of one’s discussion posts.

Domain name – A name that represents one or more IP addresses. Domain names are used in URL’s to identify particular web pages in a website. For example, in the URL: http://www.melberg.com/portfolio.htm, “melberg.com” is the domain name and “/portfolio.htm” specifies the web page.

Domain registrar – A company that provides domain registration services to the public. These services usually allow users to search for their desired domain name. If the domain name is available, the user can purchase ownership of the domain for a period of time, usually for an inexpensive fee.

Domain Registration - The process of securing a domain name. Once domain registration is completed, the domain name becomes owned for the length of the contract. Before the contract expires, the purchaser may choose to renew the contract and so maintain ownership of the domain name.

Graphic design – The process of combining text and images into an attractive visual display intended for later publication and distribution.

ISP or Internet Service Provider – A company the provides access to the Internet.

Link popularity – A measure of the quality and quantity of incoming links. There is considered to be a strong relationship between the amount of link popularity and one’s ranking in popular search engines such as Google and Yahoo.

Link-building – The process of obtaining multiple hypertext links from relevant and related websites that all point to a particular website usually to improve search engine rankings. Certain keywords may be used in the link in order to improve search engine rankings for specific terms.

Market Research – Learning about the demand for a product or service, the people who are interested in it, and the competitors who exist in the marketplace.

Mobile marketing – Advertising to users of wireless devices such as phones and PDAs often in the form of SMS messages.

Online marketing – Reaching prospects with an ad delivered via the Internet. For example an email ad, a banner ad, or pay-per-click advertising.

Opt-in email –The sender has received the receiver’s permission to contact them via email. The receiver has supplied their email address to the sender thereby requesting the sender’s content.

PageRank – A system of ranking pages developed by the founder’s of Google. A complex algorithm used to assign value to web pages.

Pay-Per-Click Search Engines – Search engines that allow advertisers to appear in their search results. Typically, the ranking, or the order of appearance in the search results, is determined as a combination of the quality of the ad and the bid price the advertiser has set for a particular term.

Podcasting – A form of audio broadcasting, which relies on the internet for distribution. Podcasting has allowed people and companies to reach large audiences for relatively inexpensive costs.

POP/POS – (Stands for “Point of Purchase/Point of Sale”) The location where a customer buys from a vendor. Often a great opportunity for sellers to increase their sales by presenting small and/or inexpensive items to the consumer before they purchase their goods and leave the store.

Pre-press – The process of preparing digital files for print. The step in the printing process immediately following the design and creation of a document, but before the actual printing.

Press release – A statement prepared specifically for distribution to the media. Can be a useful way to gain media exposure.

Search Engine Optimization – The ongoing process of increasing the quantity, and improving the quality, of visitors to a website coming from search engines (such as Google). Often includes manipulation of HTML code and website text to increase the ranking of a website for particular search phrases.

Social media – Websites whose content is centered on participation and interaction among users. May come in the form of social networking websites, social bookmarking websites, user driven content sites, etc.

Target Market – The group of people that are most interested in buying a product or using a service and have the money to pay for it.

Tent cards – An imprinted and folded display that is viewable from either side of the fold.

Testimonials – A statement of praise given by a person who is pleased with a product or service with the intention of recommending it to others.

Traditional marketing – Reaching prospects with an ad delivered via established media channels such as newspapers, television, radio, and mail.

Web 2.0 - The name given to the second generation of hosted services and web-based communities. Although the term implies a new version of the Internet, it does not actually refer to any new technical specifications but rather to changes in the way that web-based software is used and perceived.

Web design – The process of creating aesthetically pleasing websites and web pages.

Web Hosting – The rental of server space for websites. Typically used by companies who do not have their own servers.